Fishing rod holder



May 18, 1965 H. 1". HOERR FISHING ROD HOLDER Fi led Dec. 18, 1962 INVENTOR. Aha/5Y2 HQ "HUBER!!! United States Patent 3,184,192 FEHING RG3) HQLDER Harvey T. Hoerr, 122 State St, Pehin, ii]. Filed Dec. 18, 1962, Ser- No. 245,591 1 illaim. {Ql 243-42) This invention relates to holders for fishing rods or the like, and in particular to a device which is highly sensitized so as to permit sensible rod movement under light forces.

Many types of rod holders have been proposed heretofore, but these have been mainly concerned with a mere holding function, in which the rod is rigidly held, the main purpose being to provide against loss of the rod during periods of inattention on the part of the operator. While this has its advantages it represents sacrifices from certain standpoints, among which is the loss of the important sense of feel usually contributed by the operator, for although rods are made so as to be extremely sensitive to bending stresses, the sensing of bites or other fish action from visual observation of bending is crude compared to what is evident in the sense of feel. It is, therefore, a general object of the invention to increase the visual sensivity of mechanically-held rods. More particularly it is an object to provide increased sensitivity by means of a spring mounting.

Another shortcoming of prior art devices has been the absence of luring action in the handling of bait, and it is a further object to improve mechanical holding devices in this regard. More particularly it is an object to provide bait movement by magnification of very small forces emanating from the wind, and the waters being fished.

These and other objects, which will be apparent, are attained by the present invention, a preferred form of which is described in the following specification, as illustrated in the drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary, side elevational view, partly in section, of a holder according to the invention, with a rod in place,

FIGURE 2 is a partial sectional view, taken along the staggered line 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the holder shown in FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the holder.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, there is shown a holder comprising a clamp member 10, of generally U-form, and preferably having a straight leg 12 at one end, and a short leg 14 at the other end, connected to the straight, bight portion 16 through an arcuate corner section 18. The bight 16 has a central, longitudinal slot 29, running into the arcuate corner 18, for adjustably positioning the holder saddle, as will be seen. A clam-ping screw 22 of the usual type, with a swivelled pressure head 24, and a sliding, torque lever 26, is thread edly mounted in leg 12, and adapted to secure the clamp to a structure 28 (FIGURE 1) such as a pier rail or a a gunwale or transom of a boat.

The saddle 30 is also of generally U-form, and, for rigidity, is preferably made from a single piece of strap metal, folded into a two-ply structure. Thus, in FIG- URES 2 and 4 the cradle is seen as comprising a base member or bight 32, and upright legs 34, 36, the strap or band being folded downward from the legs to provide internal legs 38, 40, inclined at angles to legs 34, 36 to provide diagonal bracing, and the final folded section 42 extending between the lower ends of diagonal legs 38, 40,

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and providing a dual thickness in the central portion of the bight 32. This central portion is bored to accommodate a bolt 44, provided with a wing nut 46, which bolt is also received in slot 20 of the clamp member, and serves to attach the saddle member thereto,

The actual holder or sling for the rod handle such as 48, indicated generally by the numeral 50, comprises a single piece of spring wire, having two terminal legs 52, 54, passed through openings 56 in the saddle strap, at the junctures of legs 34, 38 and 36, 40, arranged along the inner faces of legs 34 and 36, and having bent lower ends 58, anchored in openings in said legs, at the bottoms thereof. Between legs 52, 54, the Wire is arranged in a loop 68, somewhat in the semblance of a lamp filament, the crossed ends 62, 64 of which are connected to legs 52, 54 of the wire through right-angularly disposed sections 72, 74.

It should be noted that loop 60 is also bent into arcuate form, so that its outer end forms a sling for the rod handle 48, with the cross-over portions of the wire at the loop taking the reaction thrust. With this arrangement, it will be seen that the mounting of the rod is highly sensitized, so that the slightest forces on the tip end of the rod will be visually manifest, and the resulting, large amplitudes of swing, operating in the natural period of vibration of the system as a whole will result in bait movement comparable, if not superior, to that possible in hand operation. In fact, both the rod and the spring sling will have their own periods of vibration, and this could result in many combinations, due to interference and resonance, which will be highly deceptive to the unwary fish.

Several features in the spring wire unit contribute to the unusual sensitivity, including the swing of legs 52, 54, the swing of legs 72, 74, torsion in the legs 62, 64 during swinging movement of the rod in elevation, and torsion at the cross-over of the loop, during swing of the rod in azimuth (the latter due to windage, for instance).

While a certain, preferred embodiment has been shown and described, various modifications will be apparent, in the light of this disclosure, and the invention should not, therefore, be deemed as limited, except insofar as shall appear from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is 2 A holder for fishing rods and the like, comprising a clamp member of generally U-form, a saddle member interconnected with, and adjustably positionable along the clamp member, and a sling member carried by the saddle member, said saddle member being of generally U-form, with a bight and upright legs, diagonal braces between said legs and bight portion, said sling member comprising a single piece of spring wire with terminal leg portions carried by said upright legs, and a central looped portion with crossed ends, and intermediate portions connecting said crossed ends and said terminal leg portions, and perpendicular to each.

References tilted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 428,889 5/90 Button 24 842 2,487,094 11/49 Brown 248-42 2,862,778 12/58 Rachman 248-18-891 2,902,237 9/59 Canper 248-42 2,961,209 11/60 Willey 24841 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

